AIBU to ask for UK beach essentials and hacks?

[OverheardBreakup]

We are planning a UK holiday to Dorset in the Summer with 2 young kids (4 and 6).

Every year we go somewhere in the UK and get to the beach and realise we've forgotten something, not thought of something or sitting next to a very well organised family!

So I'm asking what are your UK beach 'essentials' or hacks for lasting all day there with young children. I'm aware of talc on sand and usually remember to pack that but I'm thinking specifically equipment that you have found invaluable or things that have just made the day easier.

I'm not a great beach lover at the best of times but my DH and kids (both boys) absolutely love it so I endure it (and do love seeing them all enjoying themselves!)

Hoping to be organised this summer!

We live near the beach and go all the time, and honestly you can spot the ‘beach hack’ families a mile off, carrying all the plastic crap that no-one really needs at the beach. Plus they are arriving as we leave (usually about 1pm - we go early, get there for 8:30, have a lovely time while the beach is quiet, have our picnic, then leave to go home to our lovely quiet sunny garden as all the tourists arrive).

The stuff we take to the beach is:
-wetsuits (proper ones not from the supermarket, but if your kids aren’t going to be in for hours swimming, don’t bother with wetsuits - they’ll just happily splash about at the waters edge in their swimsuits - remember a badly fitting wetsuit is colder than no wetsuit)
-towelling robes (to sit on and change under, we take 2 for a family of 4 and share)
-surfboards / transition boards
-picnic & plenty of water
-suncream
-boy2 always takes a rugby ball and/or football

Thats it. Oh, plus a plastic beach bucket if we’re going somewhere with rock pools - no nets as hands are the best things for scooping craps / blended out of rock pools to look at (and then return).

The latest scientific reviews don't find strong evidence that talc is a human carcinogen (take a look on proper research websites like PubMed). The only link is a small shaky association with ovarian cancer that's likely due to bias in how studies were done. This said, most of the talc you can buy in the supermarket these days is made from cornflour, not talcum.

We are not beach day people, we are beach 2 hour people. The idea of carting a days worth of food to eat while sand gets blown in to it does not appeal!
We go down for a couple of hours with a towel, book and suncream and leave when everyone’s had a swim or two and chance to
chill. When the dc were small we added buckets and spades bought from a shop on the way.
We are low key low packing type of folk.

These are great!

See, we travel as light as possible when going to the beach...and we go a lot.

Towelling hoodie per child, a couple of Foutala/Dock & Bay style towels, picnic blanket perhaps, hat each, sun spray, mini cool bag with water bottles/snacks, goggles, spare swimmers/pants, crocs or wetsuit shoes. Lots of plastic bags to separate wet from dry, use as a bin bag etc. Wipes. If super sunny, some UV brollies that fold small like umbrellas.

A ball, spade, body board.

Kids wear swimmers (plus rash vest) under clothes to go down there, wear whatever water shoes they need, carry their own body board. Everything else just goes in a big beach bag.

Don't scrimp on parking, if the nearest car park charges I pay it not to have to lug everyone back at the end of the day.

I don't take packed lunches, I take loads of snacks (mix of healthy and not) and be prepared to buy something extra, or an ice cream etc. The latter is good bribery for when you leave..."come on then, time to go, we'll grab an ice cream on the way".

We sometimes go all day, but more often then not just for a half day, few hours etc. We can do that cause we're so close, but what we take rarely goes above that.

A previous poster said 'inflatables for the sea'. Never, ever, ever do this. It is dangerous.

There's definitely 2 types of people: take everything people and take as little as possible. I'm in the latter camp, my favourite seaside holiday ever was staying in a house in Whitstable that opened onto the beach so we could go straight out from the house in our swim gear for an early morning swim and be sitting on the balcony with a coffee by the time the beach started to get busy

Essentials for a normal situation where the house isn't in easy reach: long sleeved swimsuits with shorts so the kids can wear them all day and go in and out of the sea without risk of sunburn. Swimming shoes so they can go anywhere without risk of cutting their feet on a rock or stepping on a jellyfish.

Also: A couple of picnic blankets. Towelling beach robes to make changing significantly easier. Sunglasses. Suncream. Loads of food and drink, a few ice blocks to keep things chilled. Buckets, spades, crabbing net.

Some beaches in Dorset allow bbqs which is really lovely to do in the evening

Water shoes to guard against weever fish

I hate great big beach towels, bulky, heavy, hard to wash and dry quickly etc. I use a big sheet, blanket or tarp to sit on, and quick drying lightweight microfibre towels.

If I was rich I would get lovely Dock and Bay. As I am not I use Decathlon or Mountain Warehouse.

Ear buds / headphones if you want music!!

Can I beg everyone NOT to take flying rings / frisbee rings as a beach toy? They are a common cause of seals getting their heads stuck and suffering horrible injuries. Just use a frisbee.

Flying Rings Campaign 2025 — The Seal Alliance

I used to put all three of my kids in the same bright coloured T shirts (Bright Orange) and take one of those wind socks on an extending poll, we had a bright orange nemo clown fish. I could spot them a mile of but they could find me as soon as they saw their finding Nemo.

Totally agree with this!

We swear by this type of beach chair. Super comfy.
https://amzn.eu/d/004EA7fm

We prefer a wind break and the cheap parasol/base that you fill with sea water, I hate the tents they’re so stuffy. We have a really good cool box that has a pull along handle and wheels and a hard top with drinks holders. We also have a pull along trolley which is so handy, the babies have even napped in there over the years. I’ve attached links to similar. Always bring beach shoes for the weaver fish! I never understand the weird locals vs tourists mentality in the UK 😂 we’re from Suffolk and have a lot of tourists in the summer months on our beaches who everyone complains about and we then go to Cornwall every year on holiday and get complained about. We literally are all local, we share a tiny island 😂🙄

https://www.dunelm.com/product/folding-camping-trolley-blue-1000255760?defaultSkuId=30930373&branchCode=0875&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Storage_Travel-PMax_%5BGOO-LIA-STORAGE-LUGGAGE%5D&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20006441741&gbraid=0AAAAADGqyX24tb316U4CZai0_VWzOEYRX

https://amzn.eu/d/0erKVYwx

Have bright coloured T-shirts so you can spot them.

I’m in the minimal camp - rucksack or large bags with food, suntan cream, drinks, bucket, spade, blow up ball, etc.

Have two lots of suntan cream, one for your accommodation and one for your bags, so you don’t forget them.

Park away from any piers, it’ll be less crowded.

I also advise going early, to avoid crowds.

I always take a bag of small toys for the accommodation - patterned car mat and cars they don’t usually play with, so they seem new when on holiday. I kept these aside just for holidays.

I like to take a beach shelter tent. One without a groundsheet, is easily long enough for an adult to lie down in, and has a door or flap on both sides so that you can adjust for ventilation or prevailing wind.

Yes to bright colours, mine all have neon rash vests. Safer in the water too.

Take a double fitted bed sheet & put things in the corners to weight it down & stop sand getting on to it. A cheap shower curtain to put in the bottom of a hole you've dug & fill with water so you don't have to keep getting up to take the little ones in the water. Cool box with ice packs, pop up tent, chairs or one of the folding tables with bench chairs attached, Fly swatter, spare clothes so when the kids get wet they can travel home warm & dry.